Turn that frown upside down. The ASX might not have a regulator...

Turn that frown upside down. The ASX might not have a regulator now (or the past 15 years), but when the “twin peaks” model recommended by Senator Bragg is implemented, there will be some very worried directors. There isn’t a statute of limitations for criminal offences. Then we will see just how law abiding and good corporate citizens the institutional investors really are. I know they will talk big here and try to ridicule the thought of a really tough regulator. Take a look at the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore). It’s a modern day Gestapo. You get a knock on the door that isn’t announced, they demand to see evidence if you have a wholesale only licence that your clients are exclusively wholesale and will confiscate the firm’s MAS Licence on the spot if you cannot provide the requested evidence. Hence why Singapore compliance officers are terrified of them. Maybe once the new regulator puts a few directors in gaol, the big end of town will suddenly realise that the green light has been torn up, the gravy train has terminated and the heavily lopsided playing field has been replaced with a level playing field. In Highlamder parlance, “it’s the quickening”.